View full sizeA screenshot from a video showing N.J. State Police troopers leading a high-speed caravan of exotic sports cars down the Parkway in 2010. The caravan was similar to one last year.YouTube user V1SAVED

TRENTON — Top brass at the State Police signed off on a memo commending a trooper for a job well-done in an unauthorized, high-speed escort of sports cars last year, and then tried to cover it up after the escort was exposed and the trooper was suspended, a new lawsuit alleges.

On March 30, two troopers led dozens of sports cars at speeds in excess of 100 mph along state highways to Atlantic City. No action was taken against them until they were suspended without pay by the State Police on April 24, a day after The Star-Ledger first disclosed details of the event.

In the lawsuit, filed Jan. 7 in state Superior Court in Mercer County, Sgt. 1st Class Frank Chiofalo claims he was transferred and effectively demoted after questioning why the State Police commended Ventrella internally before publically denouncing him.

But Chiofalo’s allegations go further: He claims in the lawsuit he found evidence showing his boss, Maj. Robert Cuomo, had falsified payroll records to show he worked on days he had taken off. The State Police confirmed Friday this claim was under investigation by its internal affairs unit.

"It bugs the hell out of me that a guy like this, who works his butt off to make sure things are right for the people of New Jersey, winds up not getting what he worked so hard for because he won’t do what’s wrong," Chiofalo’s attorney, George Daggett, said.

Chiofalo, who has been on the force for nearly 25 years, is seeking damages under the state’s law protecting whistleblowers. The state Attorney General’s Office, which oversees the State Police and defends the division in court, declined comment on the allegations.

The lawsuit is the latest to allege the State Police tacitly promotes a culture in which troopers who speak up about wrongdoing are punished — through transfers, denied promotions or baseless internal affairs complaints — while those who keep their mouths shut climb the ranks.

The Attorney General’s Office has denied that retaliation within the ranks is prevalent.

Court documents allege the commendation memo was sent by Superintendent Col. Rick Fuentes’ office to Maj. Ed Cetnar, then deputy branch commander of field operations, on April 17, more than two weeks after the escort and after State Police had received at least two complaints about it.

Cetnar has since been promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel.

The memo was a response to a thank-you letter sent April 4 to Fuentes from various driving clubs in northern New Jersey that participated in the caravan. A member of several of those clubs, NFL runningback Brandon Jacobs, was friends with Nassry and requested the escort.

The trip came two days after Jacobs, a two-time Super Bowl champion with the Giants, agreed to terms of a one-year contract with the San Francisco 49ers. He has since been released.

In the letter, obtained by The Star-Ledger on Friday under the state Open Public Records Act, a representative of the driving clubs, Gregory St. James Vigeant, said they often raise money for charities and thanked Nassry and Ventrella for the escort to their meeting in Atlantic City.

"After having such a privilege, it was decided that a letter of appreciation was in order," Vigeant wrote. He added Nassry has contacts within many of the car clubs and "we would be honored to give back to the New Jersey State Police for all they have done for us."

Vigeant did not return calls for comment Friday.

Witnesses of the caravan said in complaints filed with the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, and later forwarded to State Police, that the cars were traveling in excess of 100 mph and weaving through dense traffic, and that other motorists struggled to get out of the way. One witness called it "Death Race 2012."

Cetnar forwarded the commendation memo to Troop B, where Ventrella was assigned, and indicated he "wanted his appreciation for a job well-done conveyed" to him, the lawsuit said. He also allegedly indicated he wanted the commendation included in Ventrella’s personnel file.

Daggett declined to release the memos but said they did not mention Nassry.

Charges filed against two state troopers for high-speed caravanAttorney General Jeffrey Chiesa and State Police Superintendent Col. Rick Fuentes hold a press conference to announce criminal charges against two State Police troopers who escorted a high-speed caravan of exotic sports cars to Atlantic City in March, as well as disciplinary charges against four troopers linked to a similar caravan in 2010. Video by John Munson/The Star-Ledger

Chiofalo, who worked in Troop B headquarters and was responsible for processing the documents, said in the lawsuit he received them April 27. Three days later, on April 30, he presented the documents to Cuomo and asked what should be done with them, given Ventrella had been suspended.

Chiofalo said in the lawsuit he was told by Cuomo "those documents do not exist" and understood the major was "directing him to destroy the documents or pretend the documents did not exist." He said he "refused to participate in conduct which he reasonably believed to be criminal or illegal since it required that he destroy official documents of the New Jersey State Police."

"He won’t destroy the documents, he won’t brush under the rug things that he sees are wrong," Daggett said. "He’s what we want every trooper to be. But he doesn’t get rewarded for it."

Two sources familiar with State Police procedures said letters of appreciation are routinely sent to the superintendent’s office and forwarded, often with little or no review, to local command to be given to troopers involved and to human resources to be included in personnel files.

The sources were not authorized to discuss internal matters and requested anonymity.

The Attorney General’s Office charged Nassry and Ventrella in July with fourth-degree falsifying or tampering with records for allegedly using black electrical tape to change the numbers on their patrol car license plates. Nassry was also charged with third-degree tampering with public records or information for allegedly instructing others in the caravan to do the same.

As part of his duties, the lawsuit said, Chiofalo was also in charge of accounting for and reporting used vacation time and work schedules for high-ranking officers in Troop B headquarters.

He said in the lawsuit Cuomo "had falsified work hours to indicate that he was working for a signficant number of days when in fact he was not." The lawsuit included no evidence to support the claim and Daggett declined to release any further information to substantiate it.

As a result of his run-ins with Cuomo, Chiofalo said, he was transferred without explanation out of Troop B headquarters in Totowa to be the assistant station commander in Netcong, which is considered a less-prestigious assignment with fewer responsibilities.

Chiofalo said those who previously held his job at headquarters were promoted to lieutenant.